5 NHL Contracts That Look Like A Steal After This Offseason
NHL players eligible for the league's annual free-agent market usually look forward to signing lucrative long-term contracts with their current clubs as restricted free agents or with new teams as unrestricted free agents.
However, there weren't as many notable stars available among this year's crop of unrestricted free agents when the market opened on July 1. The same goes for the restricted free-agent class of 2023.
Meanwhile, the salary cap remained flattened for the fourth straight season, rising by just $1 million to $83.5 million. That left few teams with the cap space to sign players to expensive new deals.
As a result, a number of UFAs wound up signing one-year contracts worth much less than what they might have received had the cap risen much higher. Meanwhile, the Detroit Red Wings signed Alex DeBrincat to a four-year deal soon after acquiring him that could work out well in their favor.
Here are five NHL contracts signed since July 1 that could turn out to be a steal after the 2023 offseason. We'll examine the factors as to why the players accepted the deals they did and how they could benefit their respective teams.
Tony DeAngelo: Carolina Hurricanes
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Just over a year after the Carolina Hurricanes traded Tony DeAngelo to the Philadelphia Flyers, they've brought him back as an unrestricted free agent.
On July 25, they inked the 27-year-old to a one-year contract worth $1.7 million after the Flyers bought out the remaining year of his two-year contract.
This was the second time in DeAngelo's career that he was bought out. In 2021, the New York Rangers cut ties with him in part because of an off-ice altercation with then-teammate Alexandar Georgiev. The Flyers cited his defensive struggles as the reason behind their buyout, clearing all but $1.7 million of his $5 million cap hit off their books for this season.
Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer reported the Hurricanes' interest in the defenseman stretched back weeks before the Flyers bought him out. He cited general manager Don Waddell indicating on July 1 that the two clubs had a trade in principle. However, it ultimately fell through.
DeAngelo had his best all-around performance during his 2021-22 campaign in Carolina. He thrived under head coach Rod Brind'Amour, finishing with a career-best 41 assists and a plus-minus of plus-30. He also benefitted from skating alongside the defensively dependable Jaccob Slavin.
If DeAngelo is reunited with Slavin, it could offer the Hurricanes a deep defense corps with each pairing capable of playing big minutes. He could help them finally get past the Eastern Conference Finals and into the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.
At $1.7 million, that would make him quite a bargain.
Tyler Bertuzzi: Toronto Maple Leafs
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Searching for a gritty scoring winger to replace the departed Michael Bunting among their top-six scorers, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Tyler Bertuzzi to a one-year, $5.5 million contract.
That was considerably less than the $7 million per season that 98.5 The Sports Hub reported he was seeking when free agency began on July 1.
Bertuzzi is a physical, agitating forward whose style has often sidelined him with injuries. Nevertheless, he was an effective scorer with the Detroit Red Wings. He netted 21 goals and 47 points in 2018-19, and 21 goals and 48 points the following season. In 2021-22, he had a career-best performance with 30 goals and 62 points in 68 games.
Nevertheless, the 28-year-old never saw playoff action with the rebuilding Red Wings. It was following his move to the Boston Bruins at the March trade deadline that he finally made his postseason debut a month later.
Bertuzzi proved he could step up his game in the heat of playoff competition. After scoring 16 points in 21 regular-season games after joining the Bruins, he tied with Brad Marchand as their playoff-scoring leader with 10 points in seven games.
The Leafs finally won their first playoff series in 19 years during the 2023 postseason. However, a lack of physical scorers proved their undoing in the second round against the Florida Panthers.
Bertuzzi could turn out to be one of this season's best cost-effective signings if he can help the Leafs stage a deep playoff run next spring.
Matt Duchene: Dallas Stars
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The Nashville Predators signed Matt Duchene to a seven-year, $56 million contract on July 1, 2019. With three seasons remaining on his deal, they bought him out one day before the start of this year's free-agent market.
That provided the Dallas Stars with a golden opportunity to land an established scoring forward for far less than the $8 million average annual value of his previous contract.
The day after Duchene was bought out by the Predators, the Stars inked the center to a one-year, $3 million contract.
A 14-season NHL veteran, the 32-year-old is a versatile forward who can also play right wing. He has nine seasons with 20-plus goals and 55 or more points, including a career-best 43 goals and 86 points in 2021-22, along with two other seasons of 30-or-more goals and 70 points.
Duchene's production dipped to 22 goals and 56 points in 71 games last season. Nevertheless, he should provide the Stars with an additional measure of scoring punch that was missing during their elimination from the 2023 Western Conference Final by the Vegas Golden Knights.
Even if Duchene matches his 2022-23 output, this one-year signing could prove to be a bargain. It could also become one of the best investments in the Stars' history if he helps them win the Stanley Cup next spring.
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Vladimir Tarasenko: Ottawa Senators
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Had the salary cap not remained flattened this season, Vladimir Tarasenko might not have ended up signing a one-year, $5 million contract with the Ottawa Senators on July 27.
The top sniper in this summer's UFA market, the 31-year-old had six 30-plus goal seasons on his resume along with a Stanley Cup ring with the St. Louis Blues in 2018-19. He had completed an eight-year, $60 million contract with an average annual value of $7.5 million.
It was reported that Tarasenko received several offers of varying lengths in early July from different clubs worth between $5.5 million and $6 million. He subsequently fired his agent on July 5 and hired new representatives.
On the day the winger signed with Ottawa, Bally Sports Midwest's Andy Strickland reported the veteran winger received a four-year offer worth $5.5 million annually from the Senators earlier in the month. He also had a one-year offer from the Carolina Hurricanes at $5.25 million, and one year from the San Jose Sharks at $6 million.
The flattened salary cap meant the Russian wouldn't receive any better offers the longer he waited. With the Senators, he joins a rising young club that could benefit from his experience. He'll also get another opportunity to find a more profitable contract in next year's free-agent market.
As for the Senators, they land a veteran scoring star on a one-year deal at a price well below his previous annual cap hit.
If Tarasenko reaches the 30-goal plateau again and helps them reach the playoffs for the first time since 2017, it will be a tidy investment that worked out well on their part.
Alex DeBrincat: Detroit Red Wings
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The Detroit Red Wings acquired left winger Alex DeBrincat from the Ottawa Senators on July 9. They also re-signed the restricted free agent to a four-year, $31.5 million contract with an average annual value of $7.9 million.
It was the 25-year-old's status as a restricted free agent that made him the subject of trade speculation prior to his acquisition by the Red Wings. Being noncommittal toward re-signing with the Senators placed him second on our June NHL Trade Block Big Board.
A two-time 41-goal scorer with Chicago prior to being traded to the Senators in June 2022, DeBrincat was coming off a three-year contract with an AAV of $6.4 million. But he earned $9 million in actual salary last season, which was what it would have cost the Senators to qualify his rights.
According to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia, Ottawa instead filed for arbitration prior to trading him with the aim of reducing that qualifying number by 15 percent. That became a moot point when it traded him to the Red Wings.
Detroit got DeBrincat for an AAV less than what his qualifying offer would have been without requiring arbitration.
With the salary cap projected to rise to $92 million by 2025-26, the cost of signing players comparable to DeBrincat could soar to $10 million annually. If he regains his 40-plus goal form, this contract will become a bargain for the Red Wings.
Stats via NHL.com with salary info via Cap Friendly.
Do you agree with our choices? Is there a player you think should be on this list? Let us know in the comments section.
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